Opposition parties in the Western Cape legislature have made their voice on Premier Alan Winde 2025 budget vote speech heard as the two-day debate came to an end on Monday afternoon.

Winde had started his budget vote speech last week stating that the country doesn’t have a revenue problem, but rather a spending problem.

“This is far from ideal, when the needs out there are so severe, but it is the reality of our current fiscal environment and budgets," Winde said.

In his speech, he highlighted how the Western Cape’s budget for 2025/2026 would be spent, but opposition parties were left unimpressed.

Prior to his speech the initial provincial budget was first tabled by MEC Finance, Deidré Baartman on 27 March.

Baartman said that the provincial government's vision is to help businesses grow and create jobs.

“Over the next three years we will allocate R43.789 billion for Growth for Jobs; R3.955 billion for Safety; R194.928 billion for Educated, Healthy and Caring Society; and R23.439 billion for Innovation, Culture and Governance.”

The budget vote speech included the various MEC's delivering how their departments intend on spending their allocation on the budget.

“Every household in South Africa knows what it means to stretch a rand further than before. They have had to adjust, to innovate, to make tough decisions. As a government, we are no different, but while others make excuses, we offer solutions. Our duty is not just to do more with less—it’s to make every cent work smarter, driving real impact where it matters most,” Winde said.

“But we do this with one non-negotiable front of mind: we must spend every rand and cent of our residents’ money responsibly, with our apex priorities, as outlined in the Provincial Strategic Plan 2025-30, guiding us towards strong, sustainable growth that creates jobs, and equips our residents with the skills and support they need to get those jobs.”